MPs guilty of serious wrongdoing could lose their seats if one in 10 voters in their constituencies sign a petition under proposals published on Tuesday.

A recall petition could be triggered either by a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons or by an MP being sentenced to prison.

The proposals – set out in a draft bill by constitutional reform minister Mark Harper – tighten up the current rules, which allow MPs to keep their seats unless they are jailed for more than a year. But they have been criticised by Labour and a pressure group for giving MPs too much power and breaking a coalition promise.

Under Harper's plans, if 10% of eligible constituents – around 6,800 people at present but likely to rise to 7,500 after the next election – vote for a recall the MP's seat would be vacated and a byelection held. The ousted MP would be free to seek re-election in the poll, whether under a party banner or as an independent.

The draft bill is designed to work alongside the Commons' own arrangements for dealing with discipline. The government expects that the committee on standards and privileges will play an important role in this process.

The proposal has been criticised by Labour for allowing MPs to have a say in whether an MP can be recalled and because it may be open to abuse by interest groups. The shadow justice secretary, Sadiq Khan, said the party would scrutinise the draft legislation carefully.

"The fact that MPs have a final say in whether a recall petition is triggered, unless an MP commits a crime punishable with a prison sentence, is certainly not what the Tory or Lib Dem manifestos promised. There needs to be clear guidelines and checks and balances to ensure a recall trigger can't be abused by particular interest groups and works to the benefit of all constituents," he said.

The Taxpayers' Alliance called the recall proposals toothless, saying many voters would feel let down that they will not be able to start a petition on their own initiative.

The Conservative manifesto for last year's general election promised voters the power of recall "triggered by proven serious wrongdoing" and the Liberal Democrats said that constituents would be able to "force a byelection for any MP found responsible for serious wrongdoing".

Neither manifesto, nor the coalition agreement drawn up after last year's election, mentioned the need to obtain a majority in the House of Commons to trigger a recall petition against MPs who have not been jailed.

The coalition agreement stated: "We will bring forward early legislation to introduce a power of recall, allowing voters to force a by-election where an MP is found to have engaged in serious wrongdoing and having had a petition calling for a by-election signed by 10% of his or her constituents."

TaxPayers' Alliance director Matthew Sinclair said: "The public were promised that they would be given the power to kick out bad MPs but now we find out that isn't really happening.

"So long as they have enough friends in parliament, and avoid doing anything so flagrant it actually gets them sent to prison, they will be safe from these toothless provisions for a recall," he said.